HISTORY OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

La Ciencia Recreativa and the popularisation of science inMexico in the 19th century

Maria Rachel Fróes da Fonseca

In the last decades of the 19th century education played a major role inMexican society, when efforts were being made to restructure it based onthe objective teaching of sciences, which was regarded as the driving forcebehind the change needed in various sectors such as industry and publichealth. In this context, the so-called science disseminators aimed tocommunicate their knowledge to the general public, mainly to the workingclasses and the children. Journalism grew and reached a wide range ofthemes and audiences. They believed in the idea of a science for all andthat sciences were an instrument to know the new nations and educate thepopulation. It is worth mentioning La ciencia recreativa, a publicationdedicated to children and working classes. Between 1871 and 1879 it wasedited by the topographical engineer and surveyor José Joaquín Arriaga(1831–1896), who aimed to generalise the scientific knowledge ofcosmography, mineralogy, meteorology, physics, botany, zoology,descriptive geography and industrial agriculture.

Abstract

History of public communication of science; Science educationKeywords

Introduction In Mexico, from the Restored Republic (1867–1872) through the period of Porfiriato(i.e. the presidency of Porfirio Díaz, 1877–1910), education played a key role and itsreform acquired great importance, as the purpose was to restructure andmodernise it on the basis of the objective teaching of sciences, which was believedwould drive the main transformations that the country needed in different sectorssuch as industry and public health. Intellectual education and science teachingwere fundamental instruments that would be used to educate Mexican citizens andshape their sense of awareness.

Leoncio López Ocon Cabrera [1998] used the term “mensajeros de la ciencia” (sciencecommunicators) to refer to those who disseminated scientific content, stating thatthey were scientists, scholars and technicians in different branches of science.According to Cabrera [1998]:

“fueron cinco fundamentalmente los instrumentos usados por esos mensajerospara llevar a cabo su programa de aculturación científica: el uso de la prensa,la creación de un associacionismo científico y de nuevas instituciones

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educativas, la fundación de museos de historia natural y la participación en lasexposiciones universales. Debido a su carácter portátil y a su capacidad dedesplazamiento por el espacio y por el tiempo, quizás quepa considerar a losmedios impresos como los que tuvieron mayor impacto en la creación de uninterés social por el desenvolvimiento científico- técnico” [Cabrera, 1998,p. 205–225].

According to Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent [1993], in the 19th century, when theterm “vulgarisation” (popularization) was created, hundreds of books, magazinesand other publications focused on placing science within everyone’s reach, bymaking full use of all the dissemination channels, such as courses, conferences,magazines, books, encyclopaedias, expositions and museums. Science was beingadapted to all tastes and conditions, in a way that was “pratique, utile, amusante,récréative, populaire, mondaine, foraine. . . elle est dispense aux industriels, auxagriculteurs, aux dames, aux enfants, aux gens du monde” [Bensaude-Vincent, 1993,p. 49].

Bensaude-Vincent said there were different categories of science communicatorswho differred in the type of popularisation; some disseminated what was newfrom the scientific world, others supported popular science and believed that theaim was to promote the scientific culture in all layers of society by allowingeverybody to access the most advanced knowledge and do amateur research.

Through their conferences and publications, science communicators aimed atcommunicating their knowledge to the general public, aiming at the population asa whole and giving priority to the working class and children. Within this context,science popularisation was regarded as a democratic concept of knowledge, ofscience for all, and according to many of these scientists science was the instrumentto know the new nations that were being formed or consolidated at the time, inorder to educate the population.

In this context, journalism embraced expressive writing, acquired a wide range ofthemes and readers, reached out to all social groups and encouraged reading.Several magazines and periodical publications included well-definied andspecialised themes, some of which targeted a selected audience, others wereintended for an intellectual elite, and others targeted the remaining sectors insociety, including workers and children. There was an interest for literature,political, scientific, practical and useful topics.

Periodical literature publications for children played an important role in sciencepopularisation, making innumerous scientific topics more child-friendly. Thesepublications aimed at communicating science to the population as a whole, givingpriority to the working class and children.

According to Consuelo Cuevas Cardona [2002], since the first half of the 19thcentury Mexico had seen the publication of magazines whose editors were alreadyinterested in disseminating scientific content. A few examples of such magazineswere Registro Trimeste o Colección de memorias de historia, literatura, ciencias y artes(1832–1833), Revista Mexicana. Periódico científico y literario (1835–1836), RevistaCientífica y Literaria de México (1845), and La Ciencia Recreativa (1871–1879).

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Among these Mexican magazines, it is worth highlighting La Ciencia Recreativa,publicación dedicada a los niños y a las clases trabajadoras, which was edited in Mexicofrom 1871 and 1879 by José Joaquín Arriaga (1831–1896), a topographer andsurveyor. This publication included content from different subjects such ascosmography, mineralogy, meteorology, physics, experimental physics, physics ofthe earth, botany, zoology, descriptive geography, industrial agriculture and theteaching of practical manufacturing.

Education andscience in Mexicoin the 19th century

In January 1958, Benito Juárez became the President of Mexico and tried toreorganise the country’s administrative and educational sectors. In 1861, theMinisterio de Justicia, Fomento e Instrucción Pública (Ministry of Justice, Developmentand Public Education) was set up and the following year saw the development ofSecretaría de Estado y Despacho de Justicia y Instrucción Pública. After the end of theFrench Intervention, during the Restored Republic (1867–1877) and the presidencyof Benito Juárez, a peace-keeping and country reorganisation process began, withthe ruling liberals wanting to establish a political agreement with the differentsectors of society. The project of re-organisation of the country required a guaranteeof peace among society and both science and education were importantinstruments to this aim.

On 15th July 1867, a commission was set up to study and put forward a proposalfor the creation of a programme about public education and the promotion ofscience under the guidance of the then Minister of Justice and Public Education,Antonio Martínez de Castro. Among the members of this commission wereFrancisco and José Díaz Covarrubias, Pedro Contreras Elizalde, Ignacio Alvaradoand Eulálio María Ortega, with doctor Gabino Barreda (1818–1881) as its president.Its work contributed to the writing of Ley Orgánica de Instrucción Pública (PublicEducation Law) on 2 December 1867.

In this context, Beatriz Zepeda stated that “para la élite liberal de la Reforma y laRepública Restaurada, la educación fue una panacea: era el instrumento mediante el cual secrearían los ciudadanos y se les imbuiría el orgullo de las instituciones republicanas deMéxico y el amor a una patria cuyas raíces se remontaban a tiempos prehispánicos”[Zepeda, 2012, p. 183].

The education reform introduced during the Restored Republic aimed atrestructuring and modernising the Mexican educational system, based on theobjective teaching of sciences, which were regarded as the driving force behind thechange needed in various sectors such as industry and public health. In order toimplement this reform, Benito Juárez issued the decree Ley Orgánica de la InstrucciónPública no Distrito Federal in 1867.

According to the regulations proposed by the Ley Orgánica in 1867, primaryeducation in the Federal District and in the territory of Baja California (LowerCalifornia) would be free for the poor and compulsory, the study of religion wouldno longer be available, a National Preparatory High School would be set up withone bachelor degree for all professional careers. Besides, there would be secondaryschools for girls, other schools would be specialised in law, medicine, agricultureand veterinary science, engineering, natural sciences, arts, music and recitation,business and trade, high school teacher training, arts and crafts, and for deaf

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people. Finally, the National Astronomical Observatory and the National Academyof Science, Literature and Botanical Garden would be founded, and the NationalLibrary would be reorganised.

Both education and science often appeared in the proposals as well as in thespeeches of different political groups as key factors in the national project forprogress. During the Second Congress of Public Education held in 1891, JustoSierra (1848–1912) — writer, politician and Minister of Public Education andArts — declared that “hacer de la ciencia la sustancia de la enseñanza era cosaindiscutible en una época en que el fenómeno social característico es la ciencia, factorprimero de la potencia material y espiritual de los pueblos [. . . ]” [Sierra, 1891, p. 468].

Hebe Vessuri highlited that during the last decades of the 19th century the recentlyformed Latin American nations saw a process of social and politicaltransformations that led to the change in the established world of science,attributing importance to positive science [Vessuri, 1996]. The European positivismgave Latin American intellectuals and politicians a conceptual framework where toplace history and society within the boundary of progress.

In this regard, it is worth emphasising the important role played by institutionssuch as Sociedad Médica de México (1865), Observatorio Astronómico Nacional (1863),Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (1867), Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural (1868),Sociedad Farmacéutica (1879), Academia Nacional de Medicina (1873), ComisiónGeográfica Exploradora (1877), Sociedad Científica Antonio Alzate (1884), SociedadAlejandro de Humboldt, Sociedad de Medicina Interna, Comisión Geológica (1886),Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Instituto Médico Nacional (1888),Instituto Geológico (1891), Escuela Nacional de Medicina, and Instituto PatológicoNacional (1901).

Within the movement of scientism in the 19th century it was not only a question ofrelying on knowledge, but also a matter of deriving the aims and values fromknowledge itself. In this context, science became the centre of the universe, whichforced liberalism to redefine its own terms, to abandon natural law and seekscientific grounds for its doctrine.

Science became the model, and the phylosophy that presented this ideal well wasAugust Comte’s positivism. With the Lei dos Três Estados (Law of Three States),Comte proposed to classify the history of mankind in different states, sorted byeither chronological, theological, metaphysical and or positive order. Scienceswould become positive, ranking from the simplest to the most complex one, fromthe most observed ones to the most tangible ones: positive sciences would besorted by appearance, from mathematics to sociology, including astronomy,physics, chemistry and biology.

The National Preparatory School, founded in 1867, considered including in itscourses the group of positive sciences, with one curriculum of disciplines for all itspupils organised according to the science classification put forward by Comte, withdisciplines ranking from the simplest one to the most complex one.

Following the statement of Salvador Moreno y Kalbtk [2001] positivism included atheory of science and a reform of society at the same time, which was a way to

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organise society. Within this context, the principles of positivism were introducedwith the aim of organising public education, to achieve a social order which wascrucial for the country to progress. In 1879, with the Reglamento de las EscuelasPrimarias Nacionales (national primary schools regulation), Protasio P. de Tagle,Secretary of Justice and Public Education, established the principle of usefulteaching whereby new practices such as “Lecciones de cosas” (lessons on things)were to be introduced.

In 19th-century Mexico, within the context of the liberal project, science was subjectto liberal education. The teaching of scientific topics was prioritised mainlybecause it could discipline minds. In this sense, learning physics or mathematicswas not specifically aimed at educating scientists or engineers, but it was aimed atgetting a solid educational foundation.

During the government of Porfírio Díaz, the Mexican modern school was based onmoral, physical, intellectual and aestethical development of children and youth. Itwas to infuse into children the love for their home country, for order, progress andscience, to create hard-working and progressist Mexicans, fond of their country andorder. Mílada Bazant [2006] states that from the very beginning of the period ofPorfiriato, physical and natural sciences were taught using the method named aslições das coisas (lessons on things) or ensino intuitivo (intuitive teaching) or objetivo(objective teaching). As highlighted by Bazant, within this context schoolclassrooms saw the mistique aspect of progress. President Díaz supported highschools, particularly those specialised in agriculture and engineering, believing thatthe future of the country relied on the scientific education of agronomists andengineers.

Rodrigo Vega y Ortega [2012] described Mexico in 1870s: supremacy of the Stateover the Catholic Church, committment towards order and peace in society,development of communications and transport networks (rail, telegraph),reinforcement of the liberal project, adoption of positivism in scientific practice,and increase of profissionalisation of Mexican sciences, especially in the field ofnatural history.

According to Fefer [2001], the Restored Republic (1867–1877) and the governmentof Porfírio Diaz (1876–1910) were in favour of the growth, development andvalorisation of sciences. Studies about the recognition of territory, exploration ofnatural resources and of those aimed to find a solution to the most critical problemsof Mexican society, such as education and helth, received the attention of scientists.In this process, the State established solid alliances with the scientific communities,through the support of the government in the creation and development ofscientific societies, research and teaching institutions.

José JoaquínArriaga —a sciencecommunicator

José Joaquín Arriaga was born on 11 January 1831 in Puebla de los Ángeles,Mexico. He began his studies in the Lancasterian School “La Divina Providencia”,led by José M. de la Veja, in Zacatlán de las Manzanas. He went back to Pueblawhere he was educated by private teachers including the Augustinian monk FreiJosé Roldán and continued his studies at Colegio Carolino, where he completed thecourse in phylosophy under the supervision of teachers such as José Mora y Daza,Teodosio Azeué and Juan Ortiz de Montellano. He then studied at Colegio de

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Minería, in Mexico City, where he obtained the diploma of topographical engineerand surveyor on 8 October 1859. After being awarded this qualification, he wentback to Puebla, where he would carry out a considerable amount of topographicaland hydrographical work. In 1863, he was appointed Subsecretário de Fomento(Undersecreatry of Development) by José Salazar Ilarregui, who was the railwaymanager between Puebla and Perote. Along this long route he supervised workssuch as the roads of Tepachero, San Diego, Alamos, the construction of masonrystructures between the watch-towers of Puebla, and the reconstruction of thebridges of Noche Buena, Alzaseca, Amalucan, San Juan, San Cristóbal del Sabinoand of Ocotes. On 21 July 1865 he received the Diploma Correspondente and aCommunication of the Development Minister, Luis Robles Pezuela, as a recognitionfor his services. He was then appointed Inspetor Geral do Centro (General Surveyor)of Puebla (1865), becoming responsible for the inspection of roads from Puebla toMexico City, to Perote and to Matamoros Izúcar, and from Tehuacán to Oaxaca.

He then went back to Mexico City and started a vibrant activity in journalism,founding the religious magazine La Revista Universal in August 1867, for which heworked as chief editor till mid-1869. At the end of 1868, together with ManuelMaría Villada, zoology expert for the Escuela de Agricultura (School of Agriculture),Antonio Peñafiel y Barranco, zoology expert for the Museo Nacional (NationalMuseum), and Jesús Sánchez, he took part in the Scientific Commission which wasin charge of exploring the territories around Tuyahualco, which, during thatperiod, was referred to as “Pompeya Mexicana” (Mexican Pompeii), where the ruinsof an ancient civilazation had been discovered.

In 1876, he took over as head of Hacienda de Querétaro in the state of Michoacan,where he moved with his family. He went back to Mexico City in May 1882, and inAugust he was appointed as Interim Director of the National School of Agricultureand Veterinary Science. He kept his post until April 1884. He worked as atopography teacher for this institution for a number of years.

Arriaga was a journalist who founded, led and collaborated with differentmagazines such as La Revista Universal (1867), El Defensor Católico (1872), El Tiempo(1883), El Nacional (1884), which at that time was led by Manuel Díaz de la Vega,and the Boletín de la Sociedad Agrícola Mexicana. He excelled as a collaborator andeditor of religious periodicals, such as El Pueblo. Periódico de religión, literatura,ciencias, artes y noticias (1870), later denominated La Voz de México. Diario político,religioso, científico y literário de la Sociedad Católica, managed by Sociedad Catolica,created in 1863 and of which he was a member. This magazine was launched on 17April 1870 and printed by Imprenta de Ignacio Escalante y Cia. He was also a memberof the association Apostolado de la Cruz, founded in March 1896, and editor andwriter for the publication Semanario Católico, which was a body of this institution.

He was one of the editors of the magazine El Minero Mexicano, dedicated tominerary, metallurgy and engineering, founded in 1873 by Mauricio Levek andedited by Sociedad Minera Mexicana. Arriaga was invited to lead this newlylaunched magazine where he became chief editor:

“dió á conocer su programa, en el que haciendo una perfecta sinopses denuestra Minería en su conjunto y en sus relaciones con los diversos ramos quela constituyen ó la favorecen, expone sus exigencias y los medios de llenarlas;

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sus ventajas y la manera de obtenerlas; las dificultades que entorpecen sudesarrollo y los elementos de que se puede disponer para destruirlas; el papelque desempeña y la influencia que ejerce en nuestro progreso intelectual ymaterial como ciencia y como industria, desprendiendo de estas oportunas ysensatas reflexiones, la misión que corresponde llenar á un periódico minero,concibe y desde ese número comienza á desarrollar un plan perfectamenteconcebido, que revela que le era igualmente familiar el periodismo científico”Ramirez [1900, p. 27–28].

On 29 August 1868, he founded the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural (MexicanSociety of Natural History) jointly with Antonio del Castillo (1820–1895), FranciscoCordero y Hoyos (1826–1879), Alfonso Herrera (1838–1901), Gumesindo Mendoza(1829–1883), Antonio Peñafiel (1834–1922), Manuel Río de la Loza (1807–1876),Jesús Sánchez (1842–1911), Manuel Urbina (1843–1906) and Manuel María Villada(1841–1924). The objectives of this association were to know the natural history ofMexico, develop the study of all its branches and applications, gather and publishthe work of national and international teachers on local products and createcollections from the three kingdoms of nature. Arriaga, therefore, linked the studyof natural sciences with his profession, publishing articles in La Naturalezamagazine, body of the Sociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural. Within this associationhe also became Primeiro Secretário (First Secretary) (1869). For this association healso worked as a numerary member as well as a Primeiro Secretário (First Secreatary),chief editor of the Comisión de Publicaciones (Publication Commission) (1870) andeditor of its magazine, La Naturaleza. Periódico científico de la Sociedad Mexicana deHistoria Natural (Nature. Scientific Periodical of the Mexican Society of NaturalHistory).

He participated in various Mexican and international scientific associations. Hebecame a corresponding member (1874) of the Academy of Natural Sciences ofPhiladelphia and a resident member (1869) of Sociedad Humboldt, founded in 1861in Mexico City thanks to the initiative of the engineering students of Colegio deMinería, who had participated in the Comisión Científica del Valle de México (ScientificCommission of Valle de México) in 1855. He became a resident member(15/02/1868) of the Compañia Lancasteriana de México (Mexican LancasterianAssociation), founded in 1822 and a honorary member (23/05/1871) of the SociedadMexicana de Geografía y Estadística (Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics),founded in 1833. Since 17 October 1873 he had been a member of the SociedadMinera Mexicana (Mexican Mining Society), set up in 1873, the president (1883) ofthe Comisión de Publicaciones (Commission of Publications) of this society, andfellow (26/12/1886) of the Unión IberoAmericana (Ibero-american Union),founded in 1885 in Spain.

On 23 March 1892, he was appointed as a member of the Instituto Médico Nacional(National Medical Institue), which had been founded in 1890 with the aim to studythe flora, fauna, the national climate, medical geography and its applications. Hecollaborated with the publication Anales del Instituto Médico Nacional (Annals of theNational Medical Institue). On 30 December 1895, he was awarded the diploma ofAcadêmico Numerário. In 1892, he was appointed as a member of the Comisión deEnseñanza do Congreso Nacional Agrícola (Education Commission of the NationalAgriculture Congress). He died in Mexico City on 10 September 1896.

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Publications:

– Plano topográfico de la ciudad y alrededores de Puebla, en el sitio establecido por lastropas francesas, en los meses de marzo, abril y mayo / levantado por el IngenieroJosé Joaquín Arriaga. [México] Litog. de O’Farrill, 1863.

– El microscopio y la fotografía aplicados al estudio de las ciencias naturales.Memoria leida por el Socio de Numero, Ingeniero Don Jose Joaquín Arriagaen la sesión del dia 8 de febrero de 1869. La Naturaleza. Periódico científico de laSociedad Mexicana de Historia Natural. México, 1, p. 27–36, 1869.

– La ciencia recreativa: publicación dedicada a los niños y a las clases trabajadoras /dirigida por José Joaquín Arriaga. México: Imprenta de J. M. Aguilar Ortiz,1871.

– El aerolito de Charcas. El Siglo Diez y Nueve, [México] 26 sep. de 1872, p. 3.

– Explotación de la ulla. El Minero Mexicano, México, tomo I, núm. 27,1873–1874.

– Compañías Mineras. El Minero Mexicano, México, tomo I, núm. 30, 1873–1874.

– Informe que de los exámenes celebrados en la Escuela N. de Agricultura y Veterinariaen el año escolar de 1883, rinde al señor Ministro de Fomento/el director de dichaescuela. México: Imprenta de la Secretaria de Fomento, 1883.

– Arriaga, José Joaquín; Aguilar, Rafael; Puga, Guillermo B. (3 et 29 mai 1887)Les tremblements de terre du Mexique, 3 et 29 Mai 1887. La Nature. Revue desSciences et de leurs applications aux arts et a l’industrie, Paris, Quinzième année,deuxième semestre, p. 182–183, 198.

– Nociones elementales de taqueometría é instrucciones para la práctica de lanivelación topográfica por el sistema americano. [Apendice] DiazCovarrubias, Francisco. Tratado elemental de topografía, geodesia y astronomíapráctica. México: Secretaría de Fomento, 1896.

19th-centuryjournalism inMexico City

During the second half of the 19th century in Mexico, there were 665 differentperiodical magazines, including literary, scientific, children, commercial andinternational ones. During the period of Porfiriato, in general, topics werewell-defined, often targeting intellectual and professional elites, sometimes aimingat a growing middle class interested in topics about different subjects, such asliterature, politics and science. This type of journalism also wanted to meet theneeds of other, more popular, sectors, interested in practical and useful information.

Despite this variety of profiles, it is worth highlighting that the scientific magazineswere the larger group. During the period of Porfiriato, science was a key priorityand scientific literature found the right environment to thrive. The tipography ofthe Secretariat of Development itself supported more the publication of scientificjournals as compared to literary ones.

During this period, the scientific scenario developed into an expressive form ofjournalism, through different publications, many of which wanted to disseminatescientific knowledge to the general public. Abigail Cruz Uribe stresses that, in this

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way, journalism stopped being an individual initiative to become an “aventurapública” (public adventure) [Uribe, 2011, p. 34].

According to Claudia Agostoni [2005], in the 1870s, children magazines thatreached a broader public were: El Obrero del Porvenir (1870); La Enseñanza(1870–1876); El Correo de los Niños (1872–1883); El Escolar (1872); La Edad Feliz(1873); La Niñez Ilustrada (1873–1875); La Ciencia Recreativa (1873–1879); LosChiquitines (1874); la Biblioteca de los Niños (1874–1876); and La Edad Feliz (1876).

Children magazines presented a variety of topics, such as scientific knowledge(agriculture, hygiene, mathematics, natural history, grography, etc.), religion,costumes and morality, pedagogical advice, gymnastics, industrial craft, history,literature, good citizenship and the biographies of important people. According toRodrigo Veja y Ortega, the publication of these magazines, which increased in the1870s, promoted informal education because “formaron parte de los recursos didácticosque los niños y niñas pertenecientes a las clases media y alta del país tuvieron paraacercarse de forma amena a la ciencia ortodoxa, como fue la geografía” [Vega y Ortega,2011a, p. 263].

Vega y Ortega [2013b] highlights that the magazines printed in Mexico Citybetween 1835 and 1855 had among their editors and writers science experts andamateurs who were interested in scientific disciplines. Although the language usedin these magazines was easy to understand and pleasant for their readers, it stillpromoted their education.

La CienciaRecreativa andnatural history

On 2nd April 1871, the publication of La Ciencia Recreativa, publicación dedicada a losniños y a las clases trabajadoras was announced — a magazine designed andpublished by the enginner José Joaquín Arriaga, who described it as:

“La obra anunciada tiene por fin generalizar los conocimientos científicos,embelleciéndolos con el artificio de la novela y por consiguiente, la nuevapublicación arrojará las primeras semillas de este interesante estudio, que serámuy fecundo en resultados para la generación que nos remplaza”. [Apud. Undivulgador poblano en el siglo XIX, 2016].

In a letter that he sent to José María Ariza y Huerta, on 26th November 1871,Arriaga stated that he aimed to improve working classes, because “deseo que meanima de presentar a las clases pobres, nuevas fuentes de trabajo que mejoren su tristísima yangustiosa situación. . . ” [Apud. Un Científico Poblano Olvidado, 2016].

José Joaquín Arriaga realised that, considering the purpose of the publication,which was the popularisation of knowledge for children and workers, it wasimportant to adopt an adequate model for the published texts: fiction or, to put it inhis words, “novelita” (story):

“El artificio de la novela se ha apoderado ya de la historia para hacer agradablesu estudio. Prueba de ello es la aceptación que han encontrado en las masas lasnumerosas ediciones que se hacen día a día de tantas novelas históricas de loscélebres novelistas franceses, que con el recurso de su pura imaginación han

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Figure 1. La Ciencia Recreativa. 1871. Figure 2. La Ciencia Recreativa. 1876.

cubierto de flores la áspera senda del estudio de la historia, gracias a ello, losprincipales episodios de la historia francesa son más conocidos en México quenuestra historia misma. La ciencia más ardua aún para los que no la aman porvocación, permanece desconocida entre nosotros y la mayoría de losmexicanos la ven con indiferencia, si no con el desprecio propio de laignorancia, preciso es confesarlo. (. . . ). La obra anunciada tiene por fingeneralizar los conocimientos científicos, embelleciéndolos con el artificio de lanovela y por consiguiente, la nueva publicación arrojará las primeras semillasde este interesante estudio, que será muy fecundo en resultados para lageneración que nos reerriplaza”. [Joaquin Arriaga, 1871, Apud. UnCientíficoPoblano Olvidado].

The books of La Ciencia Recreativa, made up of 36 to 40 pages each, were firstpublished on 13 April 1871, and included various scientific topics. Each publicationwas divided into booklets, each one including a litography by Hesiquio Iriarte yZuñiga (1824–1903), or a drawing done by José María Velasco (1840–1912), orlitographies by Viuda de Murguía y Hijos.

The publications had four seasons, with 18 issues in the first, 24 in the second, 22 inthe third and 19 in the fourth. It was a bi-weekly or monthly magazine, availableon 12th and 26th of each month. The content of the overall work made up of 12volumes, was divided into two series and three seasons. The topics available in thebooklets had the following titles: cosmography, mineralogy, meteorology, physics,experimental physics, physics of the earth, botany, zoology, descriptive geography,industrial farming and practical manufacturing. Its “novelitas” (stories) had asubindex, which showed which chapters the topics were divided into, and at the

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Figure 3. Los Para-rayos. 1871. Litography by Hesiquio Iriarte y Zuñiga (1824–1903).

end of the volume there was a glossary with the terminology that appeared in thetext. Ninty books were published in La Ciencia Recreativa (see appendix), amongwhich it is worth mentioning Física del Globo. Pluton y Neptuno (1871), Agricultura.Historia de un grano de café (1871), La vida de las flores. Botánica. Principios deorganografía y de fisiología vegetal (1871), Cosmografía. Los planetas. Mercurio y Venus(1872), Meteorología. El barómetro y el termómetro (1873), Física-Optica. Espectros yfantasmas (1874), Cosmografía. El Sol y las estrellas (1874), Mineralogía (1876), Físicaexperimental. Tomo II (1877), Zoología-Entomología: Un viaje al país de las Larvas (1879),Agricultura e Industria (1879).

La Ciencia Recreativa paved the way for a scientific children’s press, which at thattime dealt with religious teaching, recreation for minors (divinations, poems,stories) and some scientific articles. It was recognised that it was one of the firstscientific publications focused on children according to the Mexican press and theSunday magazine El Ferrocarril:

“Embellecidas con los rasgos brillantes y pulidos de José Joaquín Arriaga,adornado con el pincel de su fantasía, con la ternura del poeta nos ofrece ponerla ciencia bajo la mirada del hijo del pueblo, del que no ha cursado las aulas,del que sabe sentir y llorar sin haber estudiado en otro libro que en su corazón.La Ciencia Recreativa va a infundir en los niños el amor al estudio, va adescorrer en los jóvenes el velo misterioso de la naturaleza. Esa publicaciónserá más que un libro, será una lámpara que arrojando su apacible luz en lacámara oscura de mil imaginaciones haga reverberar después de ellas lairradiante luz que ilumina el pensamiento de los que han comprendido toda lagrandeza que encuentran las creaciones de Dios”. [Apud. Uribe, 2011, p. 35].

Other publications also commented on La Ciencia Recreativa, such as El Católico ofZacatecas, which appraised Arriaga’s initiative, La Sombra de Arteaga, official

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magazine of the State of Querétaro, which reccommended La Ciencia Recreativa forits usefulness and accessible price, El Siglo XIX, which highlighted how it made thestudy of science more appealing thanks to its stories, and La Oposición, whichemphasised Arriaga’s contribution to journalism, although it did not share hispolitical views [Uribe, 2011].

Abigail Cruz Uribe [2011] highlights that in La Ciencia Recreativa there was ascientist preoccupied with science, morality, good practices and the country. As hewas originally from Puebla, when dealing with “La Porcelana” (porcelain), Arriagapresented a legend of the “Alto” neighbourhood in Puebla, which described it asbeing highly populated, with its streets, its buildings being destroyed anduninhabited, where there was a fertile territory for the development of its wallsmade of adobe.

The law of 1867 followed up the social reform proposed by the government ofJuárez and was especially based on the acquisition of scientific knowledge thatenabled the development of economic and social activities of the Mexicanpopulation. It had set up a curriculum for primary education of boys, with subjectssuch as “Lectura y Escritura, Gramática castellana, Estilo epistolar, Urbanidad, Dibujolineal, Moral, Aritmética, Sistema métrico decimal, Elementos de Física, Artes,Fundamentos de Química y Mecánica prácticas, Nociones de Derecho y Rudimentos deHistoria y Geografía con énfasis en México” [Vega y Ortega, 2012].

Besides, through the decree of 14 January 1869, Juarez expressed his interest for thedevelopment of science in the country, emphasising different aspects of publiceducation, such as the importance of freedom of teaching, the need to disseminateand communicate exact and natural sciences, and the establishment of Escuela deNaturalistas (School of Naturalists). These objectives were based on positivismdisseminated by Gabino Barreda, in the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (PreparatoryNational School) and on lay, encyclopaedic and pragmatic precepts, that wouldcommunicate to students of any discipline what was referred to as scientific truths[Vega y Ortega, 2012].

Publications from the children’s press, such as La Ciencia Recreativa, as well as theadult press, presented a variety of topics ranging from history, biographies,spelling and writing, texts with moral or religious content, tales, theatre, poemsand stories, and the useful knowledge taken from science. The publication ofArriaga introduced the reader to scientific disciplines such as agriculture, anatomy,medicine, astronomy, natural history, arithmetics, chemistry, hygiene, physics,geography, and others.

Vega y Ortega [2012] highlights that objects of natural history were explained to thereaders and natural history, at that time, was understood as:

“el estudio de dos tipos de seres: unos dotados de vida, que nacen y muerendespués de crecer, y que tienen una forma determinada en su cuerpo tras laasimilación de nuevas moléculas con las que ocupan un lugar determinado enel mundo y, particularmente, cuentan con la facultad de perpetuarse pormedio de gametos (células sexuales) que al desarrollarse siguen la mismaforma, tales como animales, vegetales y microorganismos; y otros que notienen vida y, por lo tanto, no mueren y corresponden a los minerales”. [Vega yOrtega, 2012, p. 341–342]

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The dissemination of natural history was given a major role both in Mexicanmagazines targeting general public, and in those dedicated to specific sectors insociety whether they targeted certain age, gender, or professional groups (forexample, craftsman). The naturalist knowledge available in publications such as LaCiencia Recreativa was for workers one of the resources they could access to obtaininformation about scientific topics that they came across in their job.

The knowledge of natural history disseminated in these publications was not thesame for all readers, as the specific needs of each group were addressed. Besides,Veja y Ortega highlights that the interest of each group of readers was dictated bythe editors of each journal. These editors, from “República de las Letras”, werescholars in various scientific, humanistic and artistic disciplines.

The dissemination of natural history knowledge was part of the efforts made torepresent the natural wealth of the Mexican territory, which was necessary for theeconomic and political projects of Mexican society [Vega y Ortega, 2011b].

Rodrigo Vega y Ortega [2013a] emphasises that, considering the popularisation ofsciences promoted by publications such as La Ciencia Recreativa, the educationsystem formally set up by the Mexican State to learn science had put educationaside and informal education took place privately. The schools and institutesdedicated to the first stage of literacy taught reading, writing, arithmetic, Christianand civil studies. In this way scientific knowledge was learnt outside the classroomwith publications such as La Ciencia Recreativa. The projects for the popularisationof scientific knowledge were private and running in parallel with the state’s efforts.

The 19th century saw the increase of periodical publications, with numerousmagazines being launched not just for children but also for workers and women.Anne Staples highlights that this was triggered not only by the interests ofintellectual people, but also by the emerging of technical innovations in thecountry, such as oil lamps, gas lamps and later electric lamps, facilitating theincrease and dissemination of press [Staples, 1988. Apud. Galván, 1998].

As in the case of children, other social groups such as women, workers, farmersand craftsmen, acquired scientific knowledge informally, thanks to publicationssuch as La Ciencia Recreativa. The publications aimed at science popularisation wereprimarily focused on disseminating science in a way that could be understood byeveryone and applied by the whole population daily.

The role played by children’s publications such as La Ciencia Recreativa in thedissemination of scientific knowledge was remarkable, as they made contentavailable to all children. Besides educating and entertaining, these magazines wereused by primary school teachers as additional resources.

Translated by Sabina Brusemini

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Appendix Table 1. La Ciencia Recreativa.Year Title / Topic1871 Física del Globo. Pluton y Neptuno

Introducción general. La primera semillaMeteorología. Los misterios de la nieblaMeteorología. Las tempestadesMeteorología. El titan y el PigmeoMeteorología. El termómetro y el barómetroMeteorología. Los prodigios (primera parte)Meteorología. Los prodigios (segunda parte)Agricultura. Historia de un grano de caféGeografía física del globo. Los campos de nieveFísica experimental y recreativa. Impresiones de viaje del Tio PabloGeografía física del globo. Pluton y NeptunoFísica. Transformaciones de un trozo de hieloMeteorología. Las tempestadesMeteorología. El titan y el pigmeoFísica del globo. Los aerolitosAgricultura e industria. Historia de un pan de azúcarZoología. Los operarios del marZoología. Los jardines del océano. Primera parteZoología. Los jardines del océano. Segunda parteZoología. MalacologíaZoología. Los gigantes del océanoLa vida de las flores. Botánica. Principios de organografía y de fisiología vegetalAgricultura e industria I.

1873 Física. El telescopio y el microscopioZoologia. Tomo 2o. [1873 or 1879]Zoología — Conchiologia. Nereidas y tritonesMineralogía. Un héroe del mundo subterráneoBotánica. Flores y fructosFísica del globo. Del Ecuador al PoloMeteorología. El barómetro y el termómetroLos jardines del oceano. Primera parte. Zoología. ZoofitologíaCosmografía. Los planetas. Mercurio y VenusFísica. Los prodigios del vapor

1874 Meteorología IGeografía descriptiva. La vida polarCosmografía. La Favorita del SolZoología. Los Gigantes del OceanoFísica — Optica. Espectros y fantasmasCosmografía. El cieloMineralogía. La hija del lapidarioGeografía descriptiva. El mar libre del PoloBotánica. Los misterios de la FlorZoología — Entomología. Los InsectosAgricultura e Industria. El cultivador del MagueyCosmografía. El Sol y las estrellasBotánica. El polen, el ovulo y el granoGeografía descriptiva. Los desiertos

1874 [or 1875] Botánica. Las grandes familias vegetales1876 Cosmografía

Mineralogía1877 Física experimental. Tomo II1879 Zoología: Los insectos

Zoología — Entomología: Los fabricantes de sedaZoología: Los reyes del aireZoología: Verdugos y AsesinosZoología: Panales y ColmenasZoología — Entomología: Un viaje al país de las LarvasAgricultura e Industria

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Author Bachelor’s and Bachelor’s Degree in History awarded by the Pontifical CatholicUniversity of Rio de Janeiro (1979). Master’s degree in History from theUniversidade Federal Fluminense (1986) with a dissertation entitled “Contestação eDefesa: A Congregação Beneditina Brasileira no Rio de Janeiro (1830–1870)”.[“Dispute and Defense: The Brazilian Benedictine Congregation in Rio de Janeiro(1830–1870)”].Ph.D. in Social History awarded by the University of São Paulo (1997) with adissertation entitled “A única Ciência é a Pátria: o discurso científico na construçãodo Brasil e do México (1770–1815)” [The only Science is the Homeland: thescientific discourse in the construction of Brazil and Mexico (1770–1815)].Current professional activity:– Researcher at the Research Institute ‘Casa de Oswaldo Cruz / Fundação OswaldoCruz’ and Professor of the Postgraduate Programme in History of Science andHealth (COC / Fiocruz).– Coordination of the Historical-Biographical Dictionary of Health Sciences inBrazil (1832–1930). Available on the Internet:http://www.dichistoriasaude.coc.fiocruz.br– Coordination of the project “Ciência para todos: uma história da vulgarizaçãocientífica entre os séculos XIX e XX no espaço ibero-americano” (PROEP / COC /CNPq) [“Science for all: a history of the scientific vulgarisation between the 19th

and 20th century in the Ibero-American space”.

E-mail: rachelfroes2@gmail.com.

Fróes da Fonseca, M. R. (2017). ‘La Ciencia Recreativa and the popularisation ofHow to citescience in Mexico in the 19th century’. JCOM 16 (03), A07_en.

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